My sisters kids (ages 2-6), especially my niece, are really getting into music. Lately they’ve been settling for whatever’s on on demand, so I thought I’d make them a mix of danceable, kid-friendly songs.
Download: Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance (You Send It)
© kristine asta helgason
Summer’s pretty much here as the birthday season has begun. My boyfriend turned 23 on Thursday and my niece turned 2 yesterday. Tim took the day off on Thursday so I took him to American Firearms School in North Attleboro where we did the “Learn to Shoot” package. Neither of us had shot a gun prior to Thursday and neither of us expected that I would like it so much. The instructor was really friendly and informative and the atmosphere at AFS was so less weird than I thought it would be, it really helped me feel more at ease. And it was only 45 minutes south of Boston. We shot .22 pistols and did pretty well for our first time! We’re planning on going back for dates, our anniversary, my birthday, etc…
That night, we looked into acquiring/owning guns more for the convenience of not paying for rentals and being able to adjust the sighting than anything else. We’re not hunters and we’re not violent at all. Both of us were surprised at how easy it is to own and carry guns. After having the experience, I think it’s worth knowing how to safely operate a gun even if you aren’t planning to own one. I also think it’s well within our rights to own and carry guns. My moral dilemma is in the fact that it’s easier to own and carry guns than it is to drive and own a car. Around 13,000 more people die in car accidents than by gun per year, but you never hear about intentional vehicular homicide whereas around 40% of gun fatalities are homicides and 56% are suicides.
On a lighter note, we’ve been talking about decorating a wall of our future apartment with targets. Here are two from Etsy, if you click on the images it’ll take you right to the listings. I’m not sure why I like the crow one so much. It’s kind of morbid, but the placement of the head target looks like an eye coyly looking in my direction.
© kristine asta helgason
My niece’s birthday party was this weekend and her birthday was yesterday. I may be bragging, but my niece and nephews are such good, sweet kids that they make spoiling them justified by the big, long hugs and smiles upon opening a gift. It’s also really fun to buy toys for kids, but perhaps I’m just a kid at heart. I really love wrapping them too, even if only to have the kids wildly tear it off. I’ve had this roll of brown Kraft paper for four years and it’s only now starting to dwindle. I made the little dots by punching holes in round labels and using them as stencils. The ribbon is from a collection of vintage sewing supplies I bought from Savers a while ago. I like using rick-rack and pom-pom trim too.
photo courtesy of Raimon Ramis, AP
Wow, I’ve been gone too long! I’ve been busy. I graduated! And in a pretty dope cap too. We paraded around Beverly led by bagpipe players and had a quick but sweet commencement ceremony at Cabot Cinema. The boyfriend and I went to lunch with my family and we were so tired afterward we came home and passed out for a few hours.
The following day, I took my friend, Faith, to get her first tattoo at Jim’s in Seabrook. We had to wait a few hours to get Korie, the artist we wanted, so we drove up to Portsmouth and went to Bliss, Treehouse Toys, and Macro Polo. It’s a really good thing that I don’t live closer to Portsmouth. Bliss was filled with the softest scarves and dresses, but I resisted! I was on a mission to find my niece a birthday present. Macro Polo is more for older kids and child-like adults, but she’s just turning two. Treehouse Toys was perfect- they have the coolest toys. I can’t wait to play with them with the birthday girl.
I hate to end on a sad note, but I just came across this article on NPR about the recent passing of Louise Bourgeois. Upon seeing her retrospective at the LA MOCA in 2008, I was initially drawn to Red Room and the Couple sculptures and only mildly interested in the Femme Maison oil paintings. Since then, however, I’ve gone back to those paintings in my memory and online while struggling with femininity in paintings with interiors in Senior Seminar. I have never been much of a fan of Bourgeois, these aforementioned pieces being of the few that appeal to me, but I still find myself going back to her again and again. Kind of like a teacher who is somewhat unpleasant but you keep going back because you know you’ll learn the most from them.